Originally Posted by kickstart
No doubt westlake would be the preferred route if it had a decent path, but that seems unlikely. Too much competition for too little real estate.
Originally Posted by
CB HI
See daihard, he refuses to get it.
FWIW, one big reason the bike track is being created is the current bike traffic that passes through the huge parking lot on the east of Westlake Avenue. Businesses owners have long complained that those bikes are dangerous to their customers. OTOH, the bike commuters have little choice but to use the parking lot, which BTW is owned by the City of Seattle, because Westlake Ave itself is not very safe for cyclists. Building a good cycle track along Westlake would be a win-win for everyone. Cyclists would be able to ride there more safely. Businesses and boat owners will not need to worry about bumping into them.
One point of contention is that the project
will eliminate much of the existing parking lot. I personally don't see any issue with it. The lot is owned by Seattle - they should be free to convert it to something else as they see fit. However, the same business owners aren't happy because they "need" those parking spaces to attract customers. I'd tell them they should try and buy the lot from Seattle; that way
they would be free to preserve the space. Of course, they don't want to do that.